LETTER TO SENATORS IN SUPPORT OF
SPECTER-HARKIN BUDGET AMENDMENT
TO INCREASE THE ALLOTMENT FOR HEALTH PROGRAMS
(April 5, 2000)

April 5, 2000

The Honorable Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Senator :

The undersigned organizations, representing individuals with cancer and
their caregivers, strongly support the Specter-Harkin amendment to increase
domestic discretionary spending by $1.6 billion in order to facilitate
a $2.7 billion boost in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding. We
urge you to vote for this amendment to the FY 2001 Budget Resolution,
which will help ensure that progress toward doubling the NIH budget is
not interrupted.

Biomedical research
holds the key to improved prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer.
For those who are diagnosed with cancer and their families, research is
our lifeline. Our nation's investment in research is yielding impressive
results; important basic science discoveries are answering fundamental
questions about human disease and being translated into improved treatments.
Unless NIH funding is enhanced, research progress will slow and promising
research endeavors may be abandoned. Even with the recent increases in
NIH appropriations, strong research proposals are going unfunded.

Congress has shown
its strong support for biomedical research by approving 15 percent increases
for NIH for FY 1999 and FY 2000. However, achieving the goal of doubling
the NIH budget by FY 2003 will require growth of 15 percent, or $2.7 billion,
in FY 2001. Because the Budget Resolution passed by the Senate Budget
Committee assumes that NIH funding will climb by only $1.1 billion, there
is a risk that the progress toward doubling the NIH appropriation will
halt. The Specter-Harkin amendment would address this issue by raising
the discretionary spending allowance in the Budget Resolution.

Please vote for
the Specter-Harkin amendment on NIH funding. Individuals with cancer and
their caregivers are counting on your strong support for biomedical research.